Mises created an artificial construct, the evenly rotating economy (ERE), from which to ascertain the source of entrepreneurial profit and loss. In particular, the ERE is characterized by two distinct elements. First is the elimination of the temporal element, second is the removal of changing...

Recently, attention has been drawn to compositional changes in the Federal Reserve System's asset holdings. While much attention has been drawn to the deterioration of the balance sheet of the Fed in the face of the current crisis, an analysis of the balance sheet policies of the Eurosystem is...

The balance sheet developments of the Federal Reserve System have received increased attention during recent events. The Fed has expanded its balance sheet and also changed its composition in order to support the financial system. As a consequence the average quality of the assets have, on...

Barnett and Block (2008) attack the heart of modern banking by claiming that the practice of borrowing short and lending long is illicit. While their claim of illegitimacy concerning fractional reserve banking can be defended, their justification lacks substance. Their claim is herein...

We explore several unaddressed issues in George Selgin’s (1988) claim that the best monetary system to maintain monetary equilibrium is a fractional reserve free banking one. The claim that adverse clearing balances would limit credit expansion in a fractional reserve free banking system is...

Informational cascades can be used to augment the existing Austrian business cycle theory. As first-order users of knowledge know the direct causes of a price change, they transmit this knowledge to second-order users through the price system. Banks with direct knowledge of the sources of the...

Recognizing different types of savings allows for a more fruitful analysis of the business cycle. Sustainable investment activities must be financed by an equivalent amount of savings, both in length of availability and quantity. Upward sloping yield curves are a feature of the unhampered...

We reassess monetary equilibrium theory by focusing on its foundation – price stickiness – and answer several ancillary questions. Prices are sticky at times. Contra monetary equilibrium theorists, this is not a reason to advocate an issuance of fiduciary media to counteract the effects of a...

We reassess monetary equilibrium theory by focusing on its foundation – price stickiness – and answer several ancillary questions. Prices are sticky at times. Contra monetary equilibrium theorists, this is not a reason to advocate an issuance of fiduciary media to counteract the effects of a...

Barnett and Block (2011) argue that one cannot distinguish between deposits and loans due to the continuum problem of maturities and because future goods do not exist – both essential characteristics that distinguish deposit from loan contracts. In a similar way but leading to opposite...